GIFTED & TALENTED PROGRAM
Elbert School District 200 recognizes that the student population includes students with exceptional academic abilities.
These students have a need for educational services that are consistent with their ability levels and learning characteristics, including rapid learning, abstract thinking and in-depth content acquisition. These students shall be provided challenging curricula and instruction congruent with their learning capabilities and styles through the shared responsibility of teachers, gifted and talented specialists, administrators, counselors, parents and the learners themselves. Elbert School District #200 Gifted & Talented Coordination is handled by Carrie LaFollette - phone: 303-648-3030 ext 433 - email: clafollette@elbertschool.org.
Who qualifies for the Gifted & Talented program?
"Gifted children" mean those persons between the ages of five and twenty-one whose abilities, talents and potential for accomplishment are so outstanding that they require special provisions to meet their educational needs. Children under five who qualify may also be served. The Colorado definition for Gifted and Talented students references the Rules for the Administration of the Exceptional Children's Educational Act (ICCR 301-8, Section 2220-R-8.01).
Gifted Students are capable of high performance in any or a combination of these areas:
General intellectual ability
Specific academic aptitude
Creative, productive thinking
Leadership and human relations skills
Visual and performing arts
Identifying Gifted & Talented students
Efforts to refer and identify students for gifted programming will be made at each grade level. Multiple criteria shall be used for identification purposes. Outstanding abilities are present in students from all cultural groups and across all economic strata. Students shall receive gifted programming congruent with their identified needs.
A student may be referred for consideration based on any of the following:
Student products of high quality
Evidence of outstanding performance
Evidence of high ability, as determined by the use of differentiated characteristics checklist
Standardized group achievement test scores in the 95th percentile
Standardized aptitude test scores in the 9th percentile
Behavior / characteristics
The body of evidence used to collect data by the school gathering team for identification and placement of students for gifted programming services and differentiated curriculum are:
Aptitude ( Examples: Cognitive Abilities Test [CogAT], Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test [NNAT], Screening Assessment Gifted Elementary & Middle School Students [SAGES] testing 95% and above.)
Achievement (Examples: Northwest Evaluation Association [NWEA], Transitional Colorado Assessment Program [TCAP], Scantron testing, Standardized Testing and Reporting [STAR] in the advanced and/or above the 95% level.)
Demonstrated Performance (Example: Student performance with supported data, grades and performance in class.)
Behavioral / Characteristics (Example: Kingore Observation Inventory [KOI], Gifted and Talented Scale, as well as evidence of ability as indicated on the characteristics checklist.)
How does my child join the Gifted & Talented program?
A student may be referred by a parent / guardian, teacher, school staff member, counselor, school psychologist or self-nomination.
Parents of referred students will meet with the Gifted and Talented coordinator to create an ALP (Advanced Learning Plan). In conjunction with the teachers, students, parents and G/T coordinator, the plan will spell out the enriched and accelerated opportunities for the G/T student and the student's academic and affective goals. Once the ALP is complete the parents will review it and, if in agreement, will sign it.
Signed copies will be distributed to parents and affected teachers and housed in the student's file in the main office, as well as the G/T Coordinator's file.
Additional Resources
The Pikes Peak Board of Cooperative Educational Services [BOCES] publishes a Guide for Parents to help navigate assessing your child and the entire Gifted and Talented process. For the full range of Gifted and Talented information and resources, please visit the BOCES website.
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